Cooked: MIA2LAX

So my friend Danny... whom I see EVERY Blue moon, & I go back almost 16 years. He moved out to LA a year after I did & we recently reconnected on Facebook. I always post what I've had for dinner on there & we got to chit chatting & he's like make me dinner next Thursday I miss home cooking I was like HELL YEAH! 

Oh did I mention he's a Producer & has a gaggle of shows on MTV. That's it, I had to get to cracking. After my fun field trip to the Argentinian market I couldn't decide what to make as an appetizer. 

It was between Lamb & Drunken Cranberry Empanadas, Salt Cod Fish Balls or Lobster, Shrimp, Pineapple & Avocado Salad with a lime vinaigrette & Shredded Fried Yucca.. couldn't pick one & hell... I don't do small so I made all three!

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Star Studded Cast: Lamb & Drunken Cranberry Empanadas 

Getting the cranberries drunk in Haiti's finest!

Browning with the real "mojito"

the rest of the cast get to join

mashing the garlic, salt & peppercorns (Pink & Black)

The #1 selling empanada dough in Argentina in LA, so cool!

One of the best things I have ever purchased at The 99 Cent Only Store
So light & flaky & Frankie did such a good job on his first night... YAY!
Egg wash substitute... FAB!
Boiling the potato & salt cod

Mashed the cod & the potato, ready for seasoning

breading station, panko & flour
YUM! They were just dancing in my new Sammy Davis, Jr ... I ♥ my Rat Pack!!!
Lime Vinaigrette with Australian Paw Paw Olive Oil
Vinaigrette & salad basics

Grating the Yucca

Frying them

Drying them out

Lobster, Shrimp, lettuce, red onions, cilantro & avocado
The crispy Yucca & Flake Salt

Even though he was looking forward to classic Cuban faire I felt it was important to show my range & add a different take on each dish. I thought Lamb & Cranberries would be an exciting alternative to the common ground beef & raisin ones you find all over Miami, I also felt having something from Argentina would make him feel he was more at home in the streets of Miami than having just all Cuban food. Salt Cod Fish Balls aka Boulette Poisson or Bolinho de Bacalao are a very popular Haitian & Brazilian dish. 

The salad was my take on Nuevo Latino cuisine which is all the rage on South Beach. I used my Stepmom's vinaigrette recipe, had some leftover shellfish in the freezer & thought I can kick up the texture a bit & honestly didn't think about it until I saw the frozen Yucca at the store. I've never had it or made it before & there are absolutely NO words to describe how sensational it was. Every bite had a different surprise, the red onions, pineapple, avocado, lettuce, lobster & crispy yucca I salted with Pink Australian Flake Salt was so refreshing & so satisfying, I can't WAIT to make it again!  ♥

Appetizers... DONE!

He wanted Black Beans & rice so I decided to make it Haitian style & added bacon, dumplings & a habanero. The Palomilla steak I made, I originally wanted to use an Argentine cut they use to make Churrasco but they sold out so the butcher convinced me to use Flap Meat instead & so I had no choice but to settle for the flap... sounds so unsexy, right? 

Yes it was much cheaper but honestly fattier than a skirt or flank steak but I still appreciated the texture & the cut of the meat. For dessert I made Coconut Black Rice Pudding. 

I have to admit this is my very first time I have ever cooked with coconut milk, the consistency is very similar to condensed milk so to thin it out I added fat free evaporated milk. I did make this Caribbean style & not like the Thai Black sticky rice so I should have avoided adding a full cup of sugar to the party. 

Hey, you live & you learn. I loved experimenting with this dish though. I added some Cardamom & almond essence I bought at an Indian market & pie spices, which I have never done before. 

I must have gained 10 lbs from the smell alone in my apartment... heavenly. It tasted fantastic warm, but once I chilled it it just was way too sweet, it wasn't a complete bust... just needs a little tweaking. 

Look, I have a sweet tooth but this was just headache inducing sweet like Paula Deen's Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding... shame on that woman trying to kill everyone!

Star Studded Cast: Palomilla Steak

Marinated overnight

Onion, cilantro, salt & lime to add on top of the Steak, my fave  ♥

Star Studded Cast: Black Beans, Bacon & Dumplings

Plantains♥

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Star Studded Cast: Coconut Black Rice Pudding

Star Anise, lemon rind, cinnamon sticks & black rice

added evaporated milk to thin out the coconut milk
Yummy tie dye  ♥
Cuban Malta & Arroz Con Leche

Cooked: Langostino Quesadillas with Sweet Corn Salsa

SO... if you read yesterday about my non existent blind date with... I shall call him "Dutch Boy" I had to cancel because he wanted to go dutch last minute a mere 2 hours before our date on the day of my beloved weekly Taco Tuesday run remember I mentioned I would stay home & make Langostino Quesadillas instead? I like to take certain situations in my life & draw inspiration for new recipes. Usually on Taco Tuesdays at my FAVORITE Mexican spot Isla I would order Ahi Tuna Tacos & Lobster Tacos.

In the Ahi Tuna they use a creamy sauce & in the Lobster it's spiced with Latin spices, lime juice, scallions & onions... I figured why not combine the two & make my own but as a Quesadilla. I didn't have Lobster or Ahi Tuna so I used my favorite Trader Joe's Langostino Tails. They only sell this seasonally so trust me by the end of Spring my freezer is stocked! They're pre-cleaned & pre-cooked & TJ's REALLY knows how to spoil a Single Cook.... ♥ them for that!

I added some diced Jalapeno's, Sriracha, (you know I ♥ doing my Chino Latino thang) cream cheese, lime juice, Adobo & a pinch of Chipotle for a bit of smokiness. Unfortunately I ran out of Cilantro & Tomato so I used a cilantro base in a jar & Pace Picante Salsa.... this was still on FIRE so flippin' good.
The Star Studded Cast:

Adding Cream Cheese to the Mix:

Diced Jalapenos

Ready for the pan

Before

During

After

YUM!





This isn't the first time I've created a recipe due to an unfortunate communication gap between myself & a Man. I dated a guy once that made a terrible comment, sorry "joke" (his words)... about African American's oh I'm sorry "Darky's" affinity for Fried Chicken & Watermelon, I was livid but instead of reading him the riot act I came up with a Lobster version of a Cuban classic, Empanizado (Chicken Fried Steak) I bought a Lobster tail pounded the hell out of it (probably was pretending it was his face) breaded it in ground Club Crackers, so buttery, fried it up & then made it Milanesa Style by adding Tomato sauce & Mozzarella.

Ran out of plastic wrap so I used my Little Mermaid sandwich bags.. kind of ironic, huh? ZUT ALORS! I kept singing "Les Poissons" from the Little Mermaid♥


Lobster Empanizado (Chicken Fried Lobster):


Lobster Milanesa:


I remembered an AWESOME episode of Tyler's Ultimate where my home slice, Tyler Florence, made this wonderful Watermelon Gazpacho so I made that also with Watermelon skewers. It had Watermelon, cucumbers, onions, tomato & cilantro... super easy & all fresh ingredients. No cooking what so ever & all I needed was a blender... FAB! I friggin' LOVE that man! Just Gordon, Anthony & Tyler is all I need, my trinity... A-MEN.

Did I mention it was a SUPER hot day in June? So cool, so crisp so sweet, it really helped cool me off both physically & emotionally! I just remember eating them both & thinking this is great culinary revenge, I remember thinking "TAKE THAT you ignorant dirtbag!" Oh no, NOT Tyler, he's a dream... the dirtbag I dated! *snort*

Tyler's mouth watering Watermelon Gazpacho

I need a better camera!


On a more positive note some of my best dishes have also been inspired by some amazing Men! My Currant Glazed Lamb for Max, Carlos' Stuffed Cornish Game Hens, Chris P's Squid Ink & Angel Hair Pasta, Kenny's Shrimp Toast, my brother Andrew inspired a Prosciutto, Pork Belly & Arugula Pizza... oh the list goes on & on.

I ♥ drawing inspiration from the day to day of my life, I believe when you do that there is a lesser chance of screwing a new recipe up, especially when you are inspired by a person. You take your time, you think of the best & even worst things about them & you end up combining things together you normally wouldn't have & oh... when you ♥ a person it's a whole other ballgame.

A bit of spice, sweet, bitter, lot's of wine or beer, sauce, onions (I get a little verklempt when tears build up as I use an onion in a recipe inspired by someone) & all my heart... I can't sing, I can't draw I really don't have a creative way to express myself to another except for the fact that I can cook & there is no greater gift I can think of than that!

To watch the look on a person's face when they take that first bite & you know the entire time you they were in your heart & on your mind while you were making it is INCREDIBLE I can't thank my ♥Grandmother♥ enough for this legacy, I miss her SO much♥